3 Questions
Why I Care About
the New Wild
M. Sanjayan is a conservation biologist and an executive vice
president of Conservation International. He’s also host of the
National Geographic–produced television series EARTH: A New
Wild, premiering February 4 on PBS. Sanjayan traveled to 15
countries over five years to shoot the five-part documentary.
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WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YOUR SHOW’S TITLE,
A NEW WILD?
The new wild is the realization that we humans are
part of nature and that saving nature is really about
saving ourselves. Nature isn’t something out there,
far away. It’s living, breathing. It’s part of us.
WHY IS THIS NEW WILD SO IMPORTANT?
I love nature. I live in Montana; I grew up in Africa.
Wild places are almost places of worship for me. But
love alone isn’t enough to save them. And in some
cases, as we show in the program, when nature is
taken off track, the consequences for human life are
epic. I don’t think people quite get that. If we did,
we wouldn’t make the decisions we do.
SO IS THERE ANYTHING THAT GIVES YOU HOPE?
In this show we discover stories where there is a way
out. We show you, front line, when giant pandas—one
of the rarest animals on the planet in one of the most
crowded places on the planet—go back into the
wild. You see how communities in Bangladesh still
manage to tolerate tigers—animals that kill their
family members. In Austin, Texas, the whole city
celebrates bats. In New York Harbor oysters are
coming back to life in the shadow of skyscrap-
ers. I’m left with a sense of optimism that
when you understand nature, you absolutely
can harness that power to make both nature
and our lives better.
PHOTO: REBECCA HALE, NGM STAFF
Episodes of EARTH: A New Wild will air at
9 p.m. and 10 p.m . ET, February 4, and 10
p.m . ET on February 11, 18, and 25 on PBS.